waldburger56 wrote:The problem with lack of range most of the time with C.B. radios is not that the radios are under powered, but rather the installation of the equipment, ei: antenna(s) Ground plane, RF ground, physical placement of the antenna(s) as well as local terrain have a lot to do with the ability to "get out" on a radio.

A transmitter is only as good as it's antenna, plain and simple. the better the antenna, along with the lowest SWR you can achieve is your safest bet to getting more transmitting range out of your C.B. Buy the best antenna you can afford! Make sure that the shielded side of the coax is well grounded thru the mount to the frame of the motorcycle, and make sure the radio chassis is grounded well to the frame also. DO NOT DEPEND ON THE NEGITIVE (BLACK) WIRE COMING FROM THE RADIO AS A CHASSIS GROUND! While the black wire serves as an electrical ground, and will work to provide an antenna ground, it is far better to run a braided grounding strap from one of the mounting screws to the chassis of the motorcycle, especially if the mounting bracket holding the radio is mounted to a non metal surface such as a plastic or fiberglass part of a fairing!

Keep coax cable runs as short as possible, as you will lose power to the antenna thru long runs of coax. (This is not likely on motorcycles due to the size of the vehicle, but always remember, the shorter the better) Use the biggest and best quality coax you can afford, and use solder on PL259 connectors, not, I repeat NOT crimp ons!!!

There is not much you can do to improve your transmit/receive quality in mountains or heavy forests on winding roads, these conditions block or absorb RF. Remember, radio signals are "line of sight" except in rare instances of "skip" but that is way beyond the scope of this post. It is possible to talk/hear another station in a group of riders within +-2 miles even in the heaviest mountains/forest switchbacks with a properly tuned antenna.

I hope this is helpful to those seeking a little info on C.B.

Jeff, KG6GBY
Portland, Oregon

Great information Jeff!! Thanks for taking the time to share. I do have a question...., If you use a cb radio without adjusting the antenna to the minimum SWR, will it damage the radio?

Good question, YES! You can damage the radio if the SWR is very high! Most C.B.s, but not all have a circuit within them to limit output in to a bad match in order to protect the final transistors (The finals are the power makers) Make sure you have a good SWR meter, do not rely on the SWR meter that is built in to some C.B.s (some have this feature) they are known to give false low readings. If you take the finals out due to a mis-matched (high SWR or dead short of the center conducter of the coax to ground)

waldburger56 wrote:The problem with lack of range most of the time with C.B. radios is not that the radios are under powered, but rather the installation of the equipment, ei: antenna(s) Ground plane, RF ground, physical placement of the antenna(s) as well as local terrain have a lot to do with the ability to "get out" on a radio.

A transmitter is only as good as it's antenna, plain and simple. the better the antenna, along with the lowest SWR you can achieve is your safest bet to getting more transmitting range out of your C.B. Buy the best antenna you can afford! Make sure that the shielded side of the coax is well grounded thru the mount to the frame of the motorcycle, and make sure the radio chassis is grounded well to the frame also. DO NOT DEPEND ON THE NEGITIVE (BLACK) WIRE COMING FROM THE RADIO AS A CHASSIS GROUND! While the black wire serves as an electrical ground, and will work to provide an antenna ground, it is far better to run a braided grounding strap from one of the mounting screws to the chassis of the motorcycle, especially if the mounting bracket holding the radio is mounted to a non metal surface such as a plastic or fiberglass part of a fairing!

Keep coax cable runs as short as possible, as you will lose power to the antenna thru long runs of coax. (This is not likely on motorcycles due to the size of the vehicle, but always remember, the shorter the better) Use the biggest and best quality coax you can afford, and use solder on PL259 connectors, not, I repeat NOT crimp ons!!!

There is not much you can do to improve your transmit/receive quality in mountains or heavy forests on winding roads, these conditions block or absorb RF. Remember, radio signals are "line of sight" except in rare instances of "skip" but that is way beyond the scope of this post. It is possible to talk/hear another station in a group of riders within +-2 miles even in the heaviest mountains/forest switchbacks with a properly tuned antenna.

I hope this is helpful to those seeking a little info on C.B.

Jeff, KG6GBY
Portland, Oregon

Thanks for the information. I will check my CB out to see just where it is grounded and see if I can improve it some.

I want to clarify the reason for the braided ground to the frame verses the black wire, I noticed I omitted that from my very long post. The black wire is the electrical ground for the radio's circuits, the braided ground that I highly suggest you install is the RF GROUND! Sorry for the multiple posts, but I wanted to be clear.

waldburger56 wrote:Good question, YES! You can damage the radio if the SWR is very high! Most C.B.s, but not all have a circuit within them to limit output in to a bad match in order to protect the final transistors (The finals are the power makers) Make sure you have a good SWR meter, do not rely on the SWR meter that is built in to some C.B.s (some have this feature) they are known to give false low readings. If you take the finals out due to a mis-matched (high SWR or dead short of the center conducter of the coax to ground)

Damage would only occur when in the transmit mode correct? It would be okay to have the cb on and listening until I can get the SWR checked right?

Yes, that is correct, the damage would only happen if you were to key the microphone and attempt to transmit, in receive it will not harm your radio. As a side note, the better the match (lower the SWR) the better receive range!

waldburger56 wrote:Yes, that is correct, the damage would only happen if you were to key the microphone and attempt to transmit, in receive it will not harm your radio. As a side note, the better the match (lower the SWR) the better receive range!

I will be sure not to transmit until I can get the SWR checked. Now the challenge is to find where I can the SWR checked. Thanks again Jeff for all the good and thorough information for all us CB challenged wingers.

If you are near any larger truck stop chances are there will be a CB shop there. Most every CB shop located in or near to a truck stop will do SWR checks. Also, the procedure is not all that complex, and most anyone with minimum mechanical skills can do this. You will need to purchase an SWR meter, available at larger truck stops (Flying J, Pilot,T.A.,or the like) and a 12 to 16 inch length of coax with PL259 connectors on each end. (If your coax has a Motorola type connector as mine does from the antenna box that splits the signal between the AM/FM and the CB let me know) Most SWR meters have the instructions to do the procedure included, follow them and check your SWR. If the reading is below 1.5:1 on all channels you are good to go. If you have a high SWR, PM me and I will be glad to walk you thru the process!

Please be aware that if I do not answer your PM right away, it is due to my work schedule, BUT, I will get back to you! I am always happy to help with radio problems as I am a ham operator, and part of being one is to promote the hobby and to assist others!

winger05 wrote:I will be sure not to transmit until I can get the SWR checked. Now the challenge is to find where I can the SWR checked. Thanks again Jeff for all the good and thorough information for all us CB challenged wingers.

WOW!!! Thanks guys for all the help on this. I am now armed with a wealth of information to get my CB working in "top notch" order and before any damage occurred. Thanks again for everyone's help on this.

hubbyak wrote:This has been a very informative post. Thanks for the info, any winger near Los Banos? It is always nice to ride with people who have a cb make the ride more interesting

I agree. Very good information and it does make a big difference when everyone can communicate when out on a ride together. The Cb is an expensive option, but IMO, it is totally worth the money the very first time you use it on a group ride or even riding solo just to get info. from truckers and etc. while traveling

get a HAM license, you can use a much more powerful radio, and use your CB as needed.

I am a ham radio operator, Please keep in mind that having a ham license DOES NOT authorize use of a AMP attached to your C.B. The ham license DOES NOT authorize you to violate the FCC Rules for CB radio. (4 Watts AM/12Watts PEP SSB), With that you can have a ham license and use a VHF/UHF radio to hit area repeaters along highways.. Here in TEXAS we use C4FM to talk along the interstate 35..

I have not turned on a ham radio since 1998, so I have ask, what is C4FM ?

been thinking about going down to Tulsa and meeting up with the radio club there.
I still have a couple transceivers, one of them is a DC to Light, forget the model number.
one of the very first ones to be sold, think I bought it around 2001 or so? it is an Icom.
turned it on, listened to it, and then lost interest again.

Not wanting to get OFF TOPIC(Sorry SYSOP)Quick answer your question: What is C4FM?
YAESU Radio introduced a VHF/UHF Radio using Digital Communication. This is called C4FM.
Here along the Texas I35 We have repeaters that are connected together to cover the Interstate 35 corridor that uses C4FM.
You must have a radio that yaesu has that transmit Digital (FUSION) C4FM to use the linked system. Hope this helps.

I have occasionally tried to call out to another gold wing rider with the CB, but I have never received a reply. Likely this is because, like me, they do not keep the radio on except when riding in a group, or when confronted with a backup and trying to find out what is going on. Also, now that I have ditched the wired headset for blu-tooth, I cannot talk back anyway.
I know that there blu-tooth adapters, but so far, they are way to expensive.
I use blu-tooth because I use my cell phone more than my CB, and the wife and I find talking with the blu-tooth has less background noise. This is without being tethered to the bike by the headset cable.
If we occationally go on a ride with a group, we just use our old wired helmets.

It must be near-on 20 years since I used a CB, but even over here in the UK channel 19 was always where you'd first 'reach-out' (to coin an Americanism).

I have two CB questions, one of which I'll leave here, seeing as it is relevant to where the conversation in this thread has wandered, and one which I'll create a new thread for. So my first to you guys is:

Is it popular in the states for Goldwing CB'ers to swap their CB antenna's from whatever they are as standard (1/4 wavelength?) to say half wavelength to obtain more efficiency and therefore range from them without using an illegal rf amp? (we used to call these RF amps 'burners' in the UK) If so are there any common 'upgrade' antennas available for Wings?

regards

There are two types of people in this world, those that can extrapolate from incomplete data,

Okay, here is the poop on the channels of the CB. I just stepped out of the cab and into semi retirement the end of May, so this is as current as I can give you!

Even numbered Interstate Highways, ei: I-10. I-20, I-40, etc. the busy channel is #19
Odd numbered Interstates, such as I-5, I-17, and the like, the busy channel is #17
The exception to the rule in California is on I-5 from Bakersfield (approximate) to , and while in L.A. the channel switches to #15
Most US Highways, ie: US6, US99, US395 the trucks are on #19

I could suggest everyone get their HAM license and everyone use 2 meter radios on their GWs, (I have my license and I am already trying to come up with a compact 2 meter install) But that is better left to a different post! I hope this helps those who were wondering where all the truckers were. Oh, and as a side note, a lot of us leave the CB's shut off unless we need some specific information due to the high amount of senseless noise and filth being transmitted by people with less than half a teaspoon of common sense.

Jeff
Portland, Oregon

Jeff
would you use #520 as simplex or do you know one frequency where the GW are stanby?
73/s
gervais
ve2ckn

It must be near-on 20 years since I used a CB, but even over here in the UK channel 19 was always where you'd first 'reach-out' (to coin an Americanism).

I have two CB questions, one of which I'll leave here, seeing as it is relevant to where the conversation in this thread has wandered, and one which I'll create a new thread for. So my first to you guys is:

Is it popular in the states for Goldwing CB'ers to swap their CB antenna's from whatever they are as standard (1/4 wavelength?) to say half wavelength to obtain more efficiency and therefore range from them without using an illegal rf amp? (we used to call these RF amps 'burners' in the UK) If so are there any common 'upgrade' antennas available for Wings?

Ha!!! Yes, sorry Gef, I did say it's been 20 years since I did any CB. Most of my work is with equipment working at Wifi frequencies now!

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!

I just calculated wavelength of 27mhz to be around 11meters. If I'm correct, this would make for a half-wavelength antenna of potentially 18 feet tall!!! (well electrical length if not physical length) Doh!

So, back to reality for a moment. I've just googled the GL1500 antenna to be 46 and a 1/2" tall, which I guess is realistically about as tall as you would want to go on a bike. It's center-loaded, and I figure has no real ground plane to work against.

Considering my very shabby, school-boy level of radio theory, has anyone tried one of those 4ft top-loaded fiberglass/carbon no-ground-plane aerials on a GL1500 in comparison? Don't they have a huge length of coax attached in order to balance them? I've seen these used on fiberglass boats.

Alternatively, has anyone tried mounting a CB antenna squarely in the center of the top-box lid, and created either a ground-plate on the underside of the lid the full size of the lid, or used an antenna with tri-spurs at it's base (I think these are designed to enhance ground effect)? is a ground plane so small actually of any benefit at all?

Told you... pretty shabby radio theory! I'll shut up now, and wait for any Goldwinging Hams out there kind enough to correct me in the error of my ways! Please educate me!

regards

There are two types of people in this world, those that can extrapolate from incomplete data,